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The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Converter

The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Converter is a worm farm. Instead of feeding the worms vegetable scraps, they are fed dog droppings. The worms convert the dog droppings into worm castings (worm poo) and a liquid fertilizer, both of which can safely be used on the garden.

No maintenance costs No chemicals Safe to operate Produces valuable by-products

How does it work?
The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Converter consists of two sturdy nesting boxes with a lid, which form a neat, compact portable unit. The worms eat and breed in the top box. This has a perforated base to allow any liquid waste to drain through to the bottom (collector) box. The "worm poo" or worm castings remain in the top box and can be harvested as desired. The bottom or catcher box collects the valuable liquid waste which can be diluted and used as a fertilizer on your garden.

There is no difficulty in getting the worms to eat dog droppings. Commercial worm farmers rear their worms on manure. However it is not possible to mix diets. They must be fed exclusively on pet poo. If you want to recycle vegetable scraps you must set up a separate farm. (see the Tumbleweed Worm Farm Vermicompost Bin)

Operating a Pet Poo Converter

2000 worms in 10 litres of bedding mix are recommended to start the Pet Poo Converter. Place worms in the top box. Site the Pet Poo Converter in a shady part of the garden near where the dog does his business. Using a "pooper scooper" pop the dog droppings into the top of the Pet Poo Converter and close the lid. The worms and nature will do the rest! The Pet Poo Converter will handle, on average, the droppings of two medium size dogs. Depending upon the size of the dog it will take anything from 3 months to 2 years to fill the top box with worm castings

Compost Worms
Your Tumbleweed Worm Farm requires about 2,000 worms to kick it off. The worms must be COMPOST WORMS as these worms have big appetities and reproduce quickly. This is vital to make your worm farm work efficiently.
If you start off with less than this, your farm will take longer to reach maximum capacity. You can always start with more worms and this will help get your farm to full capacity much quicker. However cost is usually a factor in purchasing more than 2,000.

Purchasing your Worms
Always purchase your worms from a reliable supplier. They should come with approximately 10 litres of castings which form their bedding mix. This ensures that they have adequate food and comfortable living conditions. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Worm Farms" for suppliers.

NEVER buy worms that are sold in small plastic take-away food containers as the worms have little food, are stressed and are very likely to die. Happy worms make productive worm farms!

How much is too much?
The number of worms in a fully operational worm farm will vary. As the amount of food is increased the worm population will increase to cope with the quantity. If the food is reduced, such as when you go away on holiday, then the population will decrease accordingly.

The worms population will never keep increasing ad infinitum. They are surface eaters and each surface area has a maximum number of worms that can live in that space. Ultimately the surface area of the box will determine the maximum population of worms in your worm farm.

Worms
Your compost worms will not survive if you throw them onto the garden, unless you have a very thick layer of mulch or you put them in the compost heap. The average garden does not provide enough protection from the heat or enough food for the worms.